Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders have arrived at the White House for meetings with Donald Trump to map out a peace deal amid fears the US could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow.
During a brief press conference in the Oval Office, the US president said “very substantial progress” is being made in his talks with Putin.
He said the Russian president is “expecting my call” following talks with Zelenskiy and European leaders.
Trump said he expects a trilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy to be held should Monday’s meetings go well, saying there will be a “reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Nato hope to shore up Zelenskiy at a crucial diplomatic moment in the war and prevent any repetition of the bad-tempered Oval Office encounter between Trump and Ukraine’s leader in February.
Key Reads
Prior to talks with Zelenskiy and European leaders, Trump says a peace agreement is “very attainable.”
The next step, he said, is a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskiy saying: “If you both want me there, I’ll be there.”
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte commended Trump for his “leadership” and “breaking the deadlock” with Putin by opening dialogue.
European leaders are now joining Zelenskiy and Trump for talks.
16 minutes ago
Russia does not consider the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine a viable solution to the conflict, and views recent statements from the UK on the matter as “provocative”, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
“At a time when there is a genuine push for a comprehensive, fair, and lasting resolution to the conflict around Ukraine, including addressing its root causes, statements continue to emerge from London that not only contradict the efforts of Moscow and Washington, but also appear aimed at undermining them,” the ministry said on Monday.
It comes as a spokesman for British prime minister Keir Starmer said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to Nato membership.
“Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine’s pathway to the EU or Nato,” the spokesman said on Monday.
Asked if Mr Trump could have a veto, the spokesman repeated that “our position on Ukraine and Nato hasn’t changed” and that Ukraine is on “irreversible path” to membership.
He said No 10 is working “hand in glove” with Mr Trump on Ukraine, when asked if Starmer was confident the US leader would not try to veto membership. – PA/Reuters
Zelenskiy open to holding election if war ends
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is open to holding an election in safe circumstances if the war with Russia comes to an end.
Elections in Ukraine are currently suspended under martial law.
During a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Zelenskiy said: “We need to work in parliament because during the war you can’t have elections,” adding that it needed to be possible for people to have a democratic, open, legal election. - Reuters
Trump also praised Zelenskiy’s suit after the Ukrainian president was previously criticised by parts of the US media for wearing military-style clothing at the White House in February.
As the two addressed the media, a reporter said: “President Zelenskiy, you look fabulous in that suit … you look good.”
The US president replied: “I said the same thing” before telling Zelenskiy: “He’s the one who attacked you last time”.
The Ukrainian president laughed and replied: “I remember.”
The reporter then apologised, to which Zelenskiy joked that the reporter was wearing the same suit as the last time he saw him. - PA
US president Donald Trump appeared to rule out arranging a ceasefire as part of plans to try and end the war in Ukraine.
Asked about the potential for a ceasefire in the conflict, he told reporters in the Oval Office: “I don’t think you’d need a ceasefire.
“If you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war – I didn’t do any ceasefires.
“I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand, strategically, one country or the other wouldn’t want it. You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild and, you know, maybe they don’t want that.”
“I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you’d stop killing people immediately, as opposed to in two weeks or one week, or whatever it takes,” Trump added.
“But we can work a deal, we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting.” - PA
Putin ‘expecting my call’, says Trump
Trump has said Putin is “expecting my call” after meetings with Zelenskiy and European leaders on Monday.
He said he had spoken to Putin indirectly prior to his meeting with Zelenskiy.
Earlier, Trump said he expected to have a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskiy in the future should meetings go well.
He added there will be a “reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
“If we don’t have a trilat, then the fighting continues and if we do, we have a good chance, I think if we have a trilat, there’s a good chance of maybe ending it.
“But he’s expecting my call when we’re finished with this meeting.”
1 hour ago
Asked by a reporter if he’s prepared to agree to “redraw the maps”, Zelenskiy highlighted Russia’s attacks ahead of today’s talks and emphasised the need to stop the war through diplomacy.
Trump, who said he believes Putin wants the Ukraine war to end, added that he will work with Ukraine and Russia to ensure a peace that is long term.
Asked if future security guarantees for Ukraine could involve US troops, he said there will be “a lot of help” when it comes to security.
“They’re the first line of defence because they’re there, Europe, but we’re going to help them out also, we’ll be involved.”
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has just entered the White House.
He was greeted by Mr Trump on arrival before the pair shook hands and entered for talks. European leaders had been arriving for about an hour or so before Zelenskiy.
Speaking inside the Oval Office, Trump said he believes “very substantial progress” is being made in his talks with Putin.
“I think there’s a possibility that something could come out of it,” he said.
Zelenskiy thanked Trump for his efforts to stop the the war. He also thanked Melania Trump for her letter to Putin telling him “it is time” to protect children and future generations around the globe.
The US first lady penned a letter to the Russian president appealing for an end to the war.
Prior to his meeting with Trump, Zelenskiy said Kyiv was seeking a “reliable and lasting peace” in its war with Russia and that it was prepared to establish “a new security architecture”.
“Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. And it is important that the momentum of all our meetings lead to precisely this result,” he said on X.
“Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace.”
European leaders continue to arrive at the White House.
Territorial questions are certain to be a key area of focus when Zelenskiy and European leaders meet Trump for talks.
Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and the US president has said “land-swapping” and changes to territory will be crucial for any settlement.
Two sources briefed on Russian thinking said on Saturday that Putin and Trump have discussed a proposal requiring Ukraine to fully withdraw troops from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the eastern Donetsk region.
Any changes to Ukraine’s territory would have to be settled in Ukraine by a referendum, according to the country’s constitution.
Ukraine, like its European allies, strongly opposes the idea of legally recognising any Ukrainian territory as Russian. But it has tacitly acknowledged it will almost certainly have to accept some de facto territorial losses.
Zelenskiy has said talks to end the war should take the current front line as their starting point and cannot begin by Kyiv having to withdraw its troops from parts of its own sovereign territory that Russia does not control.
He has said he does not have a mandate to give away any of the country’s territory, and that tracts of state land cannot be traded around as if they were his private property.
Zelenskiy has also said that if Kyiv withdrew troops from the heavily fortified eastern Donetsk region, it would open up Ukraine to the threat of Russian advances deeper into less well-defended Ukrainian territory.
Trump has publicly criticised Zelenskiy for saying he could not violate the constitution by agreeing to give away territory.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskiy was saying: ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval’. I mean, he has got approval to go into war, kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on”, he told reporters earlier this month. – Reuters
Mr Zelenskiy is due to meet Mr Trump at 6.15pm Irish time in the Oval Office. At 8pm, European leaders will join talks in the White House’s East Room.
The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Nato along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will take part in an effort map out a peace deal.
British prime minister Keir Starmer said there must be “lasting peace” that is “fair and just.”
I’m on my way to Washington D.C. to meet @POTUS, @ZelenskyyUa and other leaders.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 18, 2025
Here’s why:
US president Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said he is “only here to stop” the war in Ukraine, and “not to prosecute it any further.”
“It would have NEVER happened if I was President. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I don’t need the advice of people who have been working on all of these conflicts for years, and were never able to do a thing to stop them,” he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Following a meeting with US special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, earlier on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated that Ukraine is working with “maximum effort to end the war and to ensure reliable security.”
Mr Zelenskiy added that two children were among those killed in Russian attacks on Monday, saying: “People were simply sleeping when the Russian army launched strikes on the cities.”
“Russia can only be forced into peace through strength, and President Trump has that strength. We have to do everything right to make peace happen,” he said on X.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has labelled Russia’s attacks on Ukraine on Monday, which killed at least ten civilians, as an attempt to “humiliate diplomatic efforts” ahead of today’s meeting in Washington DC.
“This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war,” Mr Zelenskiy said on X.
Both Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia were targeted on Monday, leaving dozens more injured.
“Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings.
“That is why reliable security guarantees are required. That is why Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. The war must be ended,” he said.
